Deciding to adopt Belane was not an easy process. For one, we already had nine kids, which is more than enough for most people, and truth be told, I am (probably too) sensitive and worry a lot about what other people think about me and my family. Add to that the fact that Belane is HIV+ and it was a huge decision. I've decided to share an edited version of my journal with you, so you can really see how it all came to be.

Part One...

I first came to hear about AHOPE on the Yahoo EthiopiaAdopt email list. A woman named Susan sent a post to the list in early January, asking if anyone who was traveling to Ethiopia soon would be willing to visit AHOPE, an orphanage for HIV+ children, to take video and/or photographs for their fundraising efforts.

The email caught my attention because Josh is a talented photographer, as is our friend and boss Dan, who was traveling with us on our journey to adopt our five year old son, Benjamin Bekalu. I talked to Josh and Dan about it and Dan said it was just the sort of thing he was hoping to have the opportunity to do in Addis, and Josh was also excited about it, so I emailed Susan back and told her we’d be more than happy to visit AHOPE and photograph the children. Susan replied and thanked us and gave us the contact information and address for AHOPE and the director Sidisse in Addis, and also gave me the website for the organization in the U.S.

I visited the website and found a short video of the children, and it made me cry (and not just drippy tears, but real sobs). It broke my heart to see those children…those gorgeous children…and to think of them as dieing, without a family. At that point I knew very little about HIV/AIDS.

A short time later I had all of the young women from our church come over one night. They were coming to learn about Ethiopia and the orphans and the dire situations in which so many lived. They were volunteering to raise donations of both money and supplies. I talked to them and shared some of the statistics, showed them video of Ben’s orphanage and the other children and gave them a list of needed supplies. At the last minute I decided to also show them the video of AHOPE, and talked some about the devastating effects of HIV on the people in Ethiopia. The girls left very inspired, and the amount of donations that they gathered in a short time was truly amazing.

As we got close to the time we were going to travel, I mentioned on the email list that we would be visiting AHOPE. A short while later I got an email from a woman (who little did I know was soon to become a dear friend), who said that her and her family were adopting a little boy from AHOPE, and would we mind taking some pictures of him for them? I had not known that it was possible to adopt children that were HIV+, as all that I knew was that in the past, the U.S. government and the Ethiopian governments did not allow it. She shared her story with me and of course I was more than happy to take pictures of her sweet Yonas. She sent me a photo of him and one of her family so I could see them all and I was really excited for them, and to know that there was some hope for the children at AHOPE.

Before our trip, I was a mix of emotions. I was SO excited to finally be going to get Ben and that was my most dominant emotion. Of course I was also anxious about leaving my kids behind (I really don’t’ like being away from my kids). I was definitely a wee bit emotional. I did have some concerns about going to AHOPE. I worried it would just be too much for me. I know that I am a soft hearted person with a weak spot for children, and I honestly worried if I could handle being in an orphanage full of sick children. I told Josh maybe I would just send him and Dan, and he said that whatever I wanted to do was fine with him.

To be continued...